Christmas with Tony's family

This is going to be a long one--get comfy.

So, Christmas. We left on Tuesday after I got off work and arrived at 1:30 AM. I slept most of the way. So did Ari, which was a blessing. And she went right back to sleep when we got there, which was another blessing. We stayed with Tony’s grandmother (Nan) as usual.

Wednesday was Christmas Eve, and we slept in, and then kind of lounged around the rest of the day. Tony’s cousin had a little party at her place in the evening, so we hung out there for a couple hours.

Then Thursday was Christmas. Nan always fixes a big breakfast and everyone on that side of the family comes over. This picture was the 2nd or 3rd "shift" since not everyone can fit at the table at the same time.



After breakfast was gift-opening time, which was fun chaos. I hope I said "thank you" to everyone who gave either us or Ari a gift--it was hard to keep track. Ari made out like a bandit--tons of toys, some clothes, a good variety.

Moi, chock-full of Christmas spirit. Ho, ho, ho...



Our niece, Taryn. Isn't she gorgeous? She still calls Ari "Baby Ari," which I think is so cute.



Taryn and Ari, with Aunt Suzie...



Tony's mom gave us a belated anniversary gift--a photo snowglobe engraved with our names, the dates, and the phrase "10 Years of Love." It's so pretty.



An attempt at a New Year's card picture. This was the best shot out of 3, and I still don't like it. So we're going to use a slightly older picture from Thanksgiving.



Tony with his sister Traci's 2 kids, Michael (who looks like he should be Ari's sibling) and Taryn.



Aunt Traci and Ari, with her finger in her nose. Lovely.



Uh... I'm not sure what this was all about...



Intently reading a Christmas card...



I thought this picture was funny--all the kids, completely focused on their new toys.



Ari, playing with the zipper on her new hoodie...



This is the best picture we got of Nan. The Clorox and Downy was a gift from Aunt Margie (well, our aunt... Nan's daughter)...



Ari giving Grammy (Tony's mom) a thank-you hug. I love this picture.



Ari's cousin Michael. Check it out--they have the same hairdo, the same blue eyes... doesn't it look like they should be siblings instead of cousins?



After present-opening time, we headed over to another one of Tony’s cousin’s houses--a cousin on his dad’s side. We had a nice time there. Oh, I should mention here that Ari did such a great job with the relatives. Last time we visited Tony’s family, it took her a long time to warm up to everyone, but this time, she was outgoing and friendly and charming, freely handing out hugs and kisses to anyone. It was really sweet, and I know that meant a lot to Tony’s family, since they don’t get to see her much.

Friday, we went to the mall in the afternoon--met Tony’s sister Traci there, and let Ari and her cousin Taryn burn off some energy in the play area. We wanted to check out a Verizon store, too, but discovered that there are none in that town. We found out there was one in a nearby town, though, so we decided to go there on Saturday.

And why did we need a Verizon store, you may ask? Because... well, let me backtrack a little. Tony’s been drooling over the new Blackberry Storm ever since he first heard about it months ago, so he decided that was going to be his Christmas gift. (My parents usually ask us for a gift list or they just cut us a check, so he took the money.) The more he talked about it, the more he got me interested in the whole idea of a Blackberry, so I mentioned a couple times that I wanted one. I didn’t want anything big and clunky, so I looked around online and decided on the Blackberry Pearl. He didn’t react much when I talked about it, so I wasn’t sure how sold he was on the idea of both of us having one. But the day before we left to go visit his family, he spilled that he was planning on getting me the BB Pearl for Christmas. He had wanted to get the new phones before we left, and even had this elaborate plan for how he was going to surprise me with it, but we got busy and he didn’t have a chance to get to the Verizon store. So while we were at his family’s, we found ourselves a Verizon store and, a couple hours later, he had his BB Storm, and I had this...



I know, huge picture, but it's really tiny--only about 4" long. And yes, I got the pink one, because I am such a girly-girl. It’s adorable, and I love it.

Saturday afternoon, we drove about an hour west to go to a big family reunion for Nan’s family. I’ve met most of those people before, but it was years ago, so I barely remembered anyone. The reunion was held in the basement of a church, so there was a nursery full of toys to keep Ari occupied. We didn’t stay too long, but it was good that we were able to make an appearance. They have a yearly reunion every June, but it’s always a Sunday, and since Tony’s a pastor, Sunday is a working day for him, which means we never go. We figured out, actually, that the last time we were at the reunion was before we were married.

Saturday night, we went bowling with the family. Ari had a great time--she thought bowling was the coolest thing ever. I helped her throw a couple balls (it was duckpin bowling, so it was the small balls), and other than that, she helped by either walking up to the line with me to "help" me throw the ball, or pressing the reset button for the next person in line. She was up way past her bedtime, though, and we paid for it when we got back to Nan’s--it took her over an hour to settle down and go to sleep, which is so unlike her. But in a way, it worked to our benefit, since we were facing another long car ride the next day.

Ari and Taryn at the bowling alley. Another favorite picture...



Tony's cousin Hanna, with an uncooperative Ari...



Again, not sure what Ari's face is about. My kid is weird.



Grammy and Ari...



Showing me the prize that Daddy helped her win (a mini superball)...



We slept a little later than we intended on Sunday morning, so it was a mad rush to pack up and then load the car. We had a late brunch with Tony’s mom, brother, and sister and her kids at Denny’s, and then we hit the road. The drive home was uneventful. Ari fell asleep almost immediately, and I kept myself entertained with my Blackberry. When we stopped for dinner at the slightly-more-than-halfway-home point, I took over driving. Ari napped a little more, then woke up about an hour away from home, moaning that her ear hurt and her butt hurt. Of course, there is no reasoning with a 2-year-old, so in spite of my sympathies and explanations, she kept whining.

We made a quick stop at my parents’ house on our way home last night to pick up one last gift for Ari. I swear, this kid probably thinks that Christmas is a week-long event, based on how spread out her gifts have been. And we still have a couple friends who have told us they have gifts for Ari. She’ll probably be sorely disappointed to learn that Christmas is a one-day deal.

While we were there, we tried to have my dad take a peek at her ear (since she’d been complaining about it the previous night, too), and you would have thought we were killing her, the way she carried on. My dad didn’t get a good look, so who knows what’s going on. I hope she’s not getting another ear infection, poor kid. I used to get them all the time when I was little, right up into my teenage years, and I’m hoping she doesn’t inherit that from me.

And so now it is Monday once again, but another short week. I have Thursday and Friday off, so I’m looking at a nice 4-day weekend. So far, I don’t think we really have any plans, which will be nice. Maybe we can finally go out for my belated birthday dinner.